Midnight Confrontation
by Niki Bogwater
Summary: Spoilers for "No Dragon Left Behind." Hiccup is less than thrilled to hear about the lengths Astrid went to while attempting to save Stormfly.


It was a little after midnight when Astrid was roughly jerked awake by the sound of heavy pounding on the door of her hut. Her first instinct was to grab her axe and prepare for a fight, until she realized that if someone had come to do her harm, they probably would not have given her the courtesy of knocking first. She ran a hand down her face and groaned as the insistent knocking continued. It was probably one of the twins, out there doing Thor knows what, and coming to ask for her assistance.

"Alright, alright, I'm _coming!_ " she shouted irritably. With great difficulty, she forced herself up out of bed and slipped her feet into her boots before she crossed the floor. "Gods, what could be so important that it couldn't-" She stopped in the middle of her angry inquiry as she opened the door to find Hiccup standing on her porch. She opened her mouth to ask for an explanation, but never got a single word out before his arms shot out and crushed her against him.

"You _idiot,_ " he whispered, though his tone was gentle and caring. "Why would you _do_ that?"

"Do...what?" Astrid fumbled, unable to return his embrace because her arms were pinned to her sides. "What did I do?"

"Astrid, do you even realize what almost happened?" he pressed quietly, as though he had not heard her. "You could have _died_." His voice went up and wavered a little as he spoke the last word. "Why would you _do_ something like that?" he repeated. His grip around her tightened, and she felt him shudder against her.

"I...could have...?" Astrid was completely lost until her sleep-addled mind began to recall the events of the previous day. "...Oh." She could not help herself as she slumped against him, both relieved and dismayed that that was what this was all about. A moment later, her relief dissolved into anger, and she shoved him away. "Who told you?" she demanded. "You weren't supposed to-"

"Look, it doesn't matter who told me," he interrupted, but Astrid persisted, and after she made a lot of threats that they both knew would never come to fruition, he finally mumbled a reluctant answer. "...Fishlegs."

"I _knew_ it!" she exclaimed angrily. "That sneaky, backstabbing, son of a-" She was cut off again as Hiccup hurried to defend his friend.

"It was an accident! We were working late tonight on some new Deathsong Amber weapon designs, and I mentioned Garff, and then realized nobody told me what happened while Snotlout and I were searching for him, and-"

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to freak out like you are now!" Astrid butted in. "Hiccup, I'm _fine._ Nothing bad happened."

"Astrid, something bad _could_ have happened!" Hiccup had started to raise his voice a little, but he calmed when he saw Astrid draw away from him warily. "Oh...gods..." he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't come here to yell at you."

"Then...what did you come for?" Astrid asked, her own voice softening a little.

"I..." He stopped and glanced around, suddenly realizing that they were still standing in the doorway, letting an icy breeze sweep through the open door and chill Astrid's warm hut. "May I come in?" he asked. As if his pleading tone of voice was not enough, the look on his face was such an endearing cross between anxiety and eagerness that Astrid was powerless to resist.

Once they were both inside with the cold air shut outside, Hiccup began to pace. Unsure of what to do or say at the moment, Astrid sat down on the edge of her bed and watched him go back and forth across the floor. He brought a hand up to his forehead and ran it through his bangs a few times as he tried to gather his thoughts. After a few minutes, he stopped and stood in front of her, holding out his hands with his palms up, something he often did when he was struggling to say something. It was as though he was holding his heart up to her, asking her to see and understand everything he was feeling as he tried to put it into words.

"Look, I understand how much Stormfly means to you-really, I do," he began in a rush. "But Astrid, what you did was extremely foolish. I mean, you seriously _punched_ a Slitherwing? What were you _thinking?_ "

"I-I wasn't," she fumbled, feeling like a scolded child. "I just wanted to help Stormfly."

"And that was the only way you could do that? You couldn't, I dunno, hit it with a stick, or a rag, or something- _anything_ besides your bare hand?"

"I was _scared!_ " she said helplessly. "I couldn't think about anything except my dragon, okay? Besides, I knew Fishlegs could make the antidote if-"

"And if the antidote hadn't worked?" Hiccup interrupted. He knelt down in front of her and grasped her shoulders, forcing her to look at him as her face burned with humiliation. "What if there hadn't been enough venom to make a full dose? Or what if Fishlegs had gotten the ingredients wrong, or didn't mix it properly? What _then?_ " She ducked her head and bit her lip, feeling tears of shame welling up in her eyes. She was not sure whether it was due to the late hour, or the panicked, sorrowful look in his eyes, but her usual defiance and instinct to defend herself were failing to kick in.

"I...I don't know," she whispered. "I was only thinking about Stormfly." She closed her eyes so that he would not see them glistening in the torchlight. She felt his hands fall away from her shoulders, and suddenly wished they had not. That is, until she felt him sit down beside her and wrap his arms around her, tucking her snugly under his chin. She turned and buried her face in his chest as her own arms fell into place around his waist.

"Astrid," he murmured, his voice muffled in her hair. "If you had died today, when I should have been there to protect you, I..." He trailed off and swallowed, pausing for a moment to collect himself. "I would have broken." It was a vague sentiment, but Astrid understood what he was trying to convey. If she had died, he would not have been able to return to the Edge and lead the others in their fight against the Hunters. He would have become empty and listless, or worse, consumed with guilt.

"M'sorry..." she mumbled into his shirt. Normally, he would not have been able to coax an apology out of her so easily, but she was so wrung out from yesterday's events, and his warm, comfortable frame against hers was making her feel sleepy.

"Just...don't risk yourself unnecessarily again, alright? At least, not without me there to back you up."

"Okay." She felt some of the desperation fade away from his grip, which became more solid and reassuring.

"Alright, then," he sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "Er...S-sorry for waking you up. I sort of...panicked and ran over here without thinking."

"It's okay," she answered, reluctantly pulling away. They sat there for a moment, just looking at each other, Hiccup's arms still draped around her loosely. After a little while, Astrid recollected herself and cleared her throat awkwardly. "I...I should get some more sleep."

"Y-yeah," Hiccup stuttered, immediately releasing her. "Well...th-thank you for understanding...A-and have a good night." He stood up to leave, but Astrid caught him by the arm and pulled him down to her level so she could place a chaste kiss on his lips.

"It's sweet of you to worry, Hiccup," she admitted after she drew back, a blush floating across her cheeks. He looked a bit dazed, but nonetheless content as he offered a shy smile.

"Yeah, well...I can't help it. Worrying about you just comes naturally."

"Sorry I'm such a burden," she quipped.

"You? A burden?" Hiccup's smile widened. "Never."

* * *

 **A/N: So the last time I tried to do a "missing scene" fic, I took too long writing it and somebody else beat me to it. So the moment the inspiration for this one hit, I had to get it written down before the same thing happened again, which is why this is being published so early. If you leave a comment, make sure to tell me which episode of the new season was your favorite. Mine was " _Sandbusted._ " I won't go into spoilers for that one, but suffice to say it has one of the most adorable Hiccstrid scenes in the entire series, and a pretty cool new dragon to boot. :3**


End file.
